The Christmas Present By James Michener It was the turn of the century and I was a mere boy of 10. During the summers, I cut the ...

Saturday, September 6, 2014

“EXCUSE ME, YOUR SLIP IS SHOWING! SAY WHAT?”

Every
female used to dread hearing “You’re slip is showing.”
It meant that it was darned near socially unacceptable. And off a girl or woman would rush to some
restroom or a place where not to be seen, to pull up that blasted slip. Either
the thing was doubled up around the waist or if it were a long slip, a safety
pin came in handy. Long slips had straps
that could be adjusted just like some bras have. Course sometimes those straps
didn’t work. Do I remember wearing a
slip? Heck yes. Started wearing one when
I was eleven: It was the norm for young girls and those older.

Slips
were made of nylon and came in the colors of white, black and tan. But as for me, when I was eleven and onward,
I had to wear white ones. They were
either half- slips that looked like a skirt or full slips that in today’s
world, would look like a sun dress. I
had to wear one or the other and dreaded it. Imagine if you can wearing
underwear, then a garter belt, that blasted slip and a dress or skirt with a
belt to top it off. That was four layers around a waist—or five if you had on a
half-slip. It’s a wonder that none of
us, including me, didn’t pass out from the pressure around our waists.

Personally,
I hated wearing either of these types of slips. And why were they foisted upon
females? Why someone might see through a wool skirt, a corduroy one or a dark
cotton skirt and the horror of that. How could anyone see through those three
types of material? Well they
couldn’t. But it didn’t matter because
it was the acceptable thing to wear.

In
my teenage years, some manufacturer came out with colorful full slips: They were beautiful with lace and of course,
made of nylon. I well remember having a purple slip that was drop dead gorgeous.
And it was drop dead hot when I wore it. But wearing it made me feel glamorous.
Had so many in so many different colors. Of course, the same problem existed:
If the slip showed, it was decadent!
Couldn’t count the times I had to rush into a bathroom or somewhere to
pull up the straps. The repetition of
this got old really fast. But then every female was bound by the same rule: A
female has to wear a slip.

Forward
into my twenties and those long polyester dresses were the thing to wear: They came down to your feet. Hot as blazes but it was the cool thing to
wear. And then another invention was
made: A long half-slip that almost touched
the ground. The same old problem existed
for if the slip were showing, heaven forbid:
It was off to secrecy to fold over the top of that thing and it made
your waist look lumpy. Dreadful.

Years
went by of wearing half-slips or full slips until about eighteen years ago or
so when I realized, along with other women, that it was absurd to wear either.
In essence, it was plain torture and something out of the 1800’s passed down
but ah the tradition was losing ground.

I
haven’t worn a slip in forever nor will I.
Do I still have any slips? Yes, in a drawer there are some but they
really need to be thrown away. Today’s
young females know nothing of slips and I hope that they are grateful. And after all, if you look at what they wear
dress-wise, why it’s a disguised slip—a full one that is.

Thank
heavens I will never hear “Excuse me, your slip is showing.” I don’t wear one
and I’m sure that most females don’t—at least in most countries. I can only
hope that this tradition will go down the tubes if you are forced to wear one.

About Me

I was an elementary teacher for 35 years but before and during teaching, I worked for 7 summers as a typist for the Dept.of Transportation. Have always written and painted in what seems like forever. I have a BS degree in Education and English and a masters degree in communication. Was a volunteer for Goodwill for 14 years during which time I served on the board of directors for 8 years. Writing and painting have been a part of my life since I was four; it is not something that I see as being audacious but more of something that is inside of me that has to surface. And I believe that everyone has a creative gene be it connected to music,acting, photography, design,advertising or any avenue that calls for creativity. It is what makes us unique. The Charleston Gazette has been so gracious in publishing many of my stories;some have been in the Charleston Daily Mail as well. And a friend of mine let me use his lobby for my first art show a year and a half ago. Dreams do come true. I have been published in The Charleston Gazette, The Daily Mail and http://usads.ms11.net/sherry2.html. Of late, I've self-published 11 Amazon Kindle E books. Be sure to check them out and thank you.